†Quote of the Day "No act is charitable if it is not just."
–St. Bruno Today's Meditation "Man threw away everything he had—his right to speak freely, his communion with God, his time in Paradise, his unclouded life—and went out naked, like a survivor from a shipwreck. But God received him and immediately clothed him, and taking him by the hand gradually led him to heaven. And yet the shipwreck was quite unforgivable. For this tempest was entirely due, not to the force of the winds, but to the carelessness of the sailor. Yet God did not look at this, but had compassion for such a great disaster. … Why? Because, when no sadness or care or labor or toil or countless waves of desire assaulted our nature, it was overturned and fell. And just as criminals who sail the sea often drill through the ship with a small iron tool, and let the whole sea into the ship from below, so when the devil saw the ship of Adam (by which I mean his soul) filled with many good things, he came and drilled through it with his voice alone, as if it were an iron tool, and stole all his wealth and sank the ship itself. But God made the gain greater than the loss, and brought our nature to the royal throne."
—St. John Chrysostom, p. 19 Daily Verse "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
–1 Corinthians 15:58 | St. Agatha St. Agatha (231-251 A.D.) was born in Sicily into an affluent family. At a young age she made the decision to devote herself to Christ, resisting every offer of marriage. Struck by her beauty and wealth, a magistrate named Quintian desired to marry her. He plotted to use his political power to force her hand, and threatened to prosecute her for the crime of Christianity unless she accepted his sexual advances. When she refused, he forced her into a brothel. Even there, she refused to relinquish her chastity. Furious, Quintian imprisoned and tortured Agatha, ordering her breasts to be cut off. Upon this barbaric treatment, God sent St. Peter the Apostle to Agatha in a vision, and he healed her wounds. St. Agatha's torture continued until an earthquake caused her captors to flee, and she died shortly after. St. Agatha is the patroness of rape victims, torture victims, martyrs, nurses, and against breast cancer. She is one of the seven women, besides the Virgin Mary, mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her feast day is February 5th. | Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Lectionary: 329
Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13 The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,
the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,
came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,
to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant
from the City of David, which is Zion.
All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon
during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).
When all the elders of Israel had arrived,
the priests took up the ark;
they carried the ark of the LORD
and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels
that were in the tent.
(The priests and Levites carried them.) King Solomon and the entire community of Israel
present for the occasion
sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen
too many to number or count.
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD
to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary,
the holy of holies of the temple.
The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,
sheltering the ark and its poles from above.
There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets
which Moses had put there at Horeb,
when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel
at their departure from the land of Egypt. When the priests left the holy place,
the cloud filled the temple of the LORD
so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,
since the LORD's glory had filled the temple of the LORD.
Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
I have truly built you a princely house,
a dwelling where you may abide forever." Responsorial Psalm PS 132:6-7, 8-10 R. (8a) Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter into his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your majesty.
May your priests be clothed with justice;
let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For the sake of David your servant,
reject not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest! Alleluia See Mt 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MK 6:53-56 After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed. | They . . . begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak. (Mark 6:56) When a starstruck teen brushes up against a favorite celebrity, you might hear the giddy reaction, "He touched my hand! I'm never going to wash it again!" We can smile at scenes like this because we know that such breathless encounters, while memorable, are hardly life-changing. That certainly wasn't the case with Jesus. The Gospels are filled with stories of people who had life-changing encounters with him. Jesus wasn't just celebrity-famous; people instinctively understood that he was different. He offered true hope and healing. He healed physical ailments, and he healed wounded souls. He made the blind to see, and he opened people's spiritual eyes to the mercy and love of his Father. No wonder so many people crowded around him and sought to touch "only the tassel on his cloak" (Mark 6:56)! That mention of Jesus' tassel tells us something else: God uses ordinary things to communicate extraordinary love. And not just ordinary "things," but ordinary people as well. The whole story of the early Church, in fact, is the story of ordinary fishermen, reformed tax collectors, and part-time tentmakers becoming channels of God's healing power. It's the story of sinful people just like us spreading the good news throughout the entire known world! Your Baptism makes you a "tassel on Jesus' cloak" to the people around you. Your words, your touch, your patience, your compassion—everything about you can introduce people to life-changing encounters with the Lord. Not because you are special in and of yourself, but because of your relationship with Jesus. The closer you are to him, the more readily his life and his love will flow out of you. So ask the Holy Spirit to keep you connected to the Lord. Ask him to give you greater confidence that when anyone touches you, they are touching Christ. Whether you are offering quiet prayers of intercession or sharing words of encouragement or praying with someone who is hurting, you can be a channel of Jesus' own life-changing grace. "Holy Spirit, help me to be the tassel of Jesus' cloak so that I can bring his love to those who need it." 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13
Psalm 132:6-10 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed......" end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"An awful lot of contemporary theologians and Bible commentators have tried to explain away the miracles of Jesus as spiritual symbols. Perhaps most notoriously, many preachers tried to explain the multiplication of the loaves and fishes as a "miracle" of charity, with everyone sharing the little that he had.
But I think it's hard to deny that the first Christians were intensely interested in the miracles of Jesus, and that they didn't see them as mere literary symbols! They saw them for what they really were: actions of God, breaking into our world......" end quote Bishop Barron.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to be honest, I'm in this faith thing because of miracles. LOL! Right? Don't we want miracles? How many of us have witnessed a miracle! A miracle is mind boggling! Not even the top scientists in the world can explain any of them! They just happen. It just happens. And this almost makes it too natural, too simple, so natural and so simple, that it just doesn't make sense! Yet, that is how God works. I say this because let's say, a sick relative heals suddenly after much effort and prayer. We just move on! Right? And this is the most confounding part for me, and a question for all of us, what about gratitude? This is why I'm inviting everyone to start making a Thursday evening visit to our Lord. In my parish, I'm attempting to start a 2nd Thursday of the month to meet, and to give thanks to God together for all He has done for us! But I'm finding something peculiar going on with these meetings of praise and worship....we come out blessed even more! That was NOT the point of gathering! It's like the more I give thanks, the more blessings come! And maybe this should be an eye opener for all of us...because we live in a country where gratitude is severely lacking. Just within the past few days, I let people borrow stuff, no thanks given. I let people have something... some pay, some say I'll pay you later and thanks. But the real gratitude is in the works...a whole new attitude towards God our Father, the ultimate giver Himself!
This whole world would change for the better if we appreciated the very little we have. That in of itself would become a great miracle.
And I hope you've caught on this short bit what true thanksgiving should be...our lives directed and influenced by Jesus our Lord Himself, who gave His life, not only on the cross...but it started at the last supper. He was giving thanks to God...for everyone with Him...and for what was to come; at the moment of His greatest need, most would abandon Him, and one of them would be the very cause of His death, which becomes an even greater wound....that the brother would take his own life by turning against God Himself! Let us pray today:
Lord, My King, My All, with what gall can we sin against Thee?
And then we feed bitter wine to Thy precious lips on the cross, a non remorseful "sorry", a life unchanged. I want a new life with You God. A life that will eternally praise God, and the most powerful praises start now, showing God that we can provide this miracle of the free will....turning from darkness to light, and making a true sacrifice happen all along the way. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Ecclesiastes 7:9 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart1 of fools. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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